Lysa has such a good stinkin’ way of explaining things. I wish I could just quote some of my favorite things she says, chapter-by-chapter. But, then again, I guess that’d be the whole book, and I can’t take credit for that. Hmmm. Oh well, I shall try and pick a FEW of my favorites in this chapter for you to sink your teeth into!

We all know that lie we tell ourselves day after day….I’ll just start eating healthy tomorrow. Then tomorrow comes, and you are stressed and have a bazillion things going on so you just put off eating healthy for the next day. And so on and so forth. Then we get on the scale and are SHOCKED that the numbers are going up and not down. What the heck?! Come on now, ladies. Let’s get real with ourselves about this little bitty thing that is ruling your life. Food. Eventually, we all come to hate this vicious cycle of excuses. It’s amazing how much we organize our life around food. What if we organized our life around God as much as we do food? There’s some food for thought. ;-) Maybe you need to turn over your weakness to HIS control. “I had to see the purpose of my struggle as something more than wearing smaller sizes and getting compliments from others. It had to be about something more than just me. I had to get honest enough to admit: I relied on food more than I relied on God.” Maybe instead of turning to food when we need comfort or a reward, we should try turning to our Creator. He wants so badly to comfort us. Psalm 119:76- May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. “God never intended for us to want anything more than we want Him.” In the book, Lysa said that she prayed every time she craved something she knew was unbeneficial to her health. She would even sit in her closet, with tears running down her face and cry. I cannot say that I have sat in my closet and cried away my cravings, but I have busted out with some tears when my clothes didn’t fit. Then I’d be back to square one, again, beating myself up saying I would change. Psalm 5:1-3 – Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Go to God with your tears and an open heart waiting to be filled with his blessings. Talk to yourself. Yes, you heard me correctly. I do it on a daily basis. Tell yourself that you can have biscuits and gravy for breakfast, but that you are going to eat a poached egg instead. Thank God for allowing you to have food on your table. Talk to him whenever you have a craving. Even when you don’t wanna talk to Him…….continue to do so. As you do this, you will lay a foundation for a better lifestyle. If you keep on doing this, you set a pattern and before you know it, you eat healthy without even thinking twice about it. Lysa gives a great example of her inner dialogue: “God, its lunchtime and all my friends are heading out for Mexican. I could seriously justify myself into a big bowl of chips and guacamole right now. It’s been a tough day. But once again I’m choosing to pray instead of getting stuck in my craving. Help me, God, to feel satisfied with healthier choices.” Before you know it, you’ll be stepping onto the scale in the morning without dreading to look down at the numbers. If you’re like me, you get discouraged or overwhelmed at the long, drawn out process of losing weight. I’ve learned to take it day-by-day to make it easier on myself. Don’t look at the whole staircase, but instead, focus on one step at a time. Much Love,Hannah

Hi Hannah,
This is a good word! I haven't read the book, but really enjoyed reading your thoughts.
This has frequently been a painful journey for me too, and at the beginning of this year I started the Daniel fast to really set aside time to cleanse my body and spirit and set my year before God. One of the things that He really revealed to me is that even if I am eating "healthy" and exercising regularly, but I am thinking and obsessing about these things and my body all the time, things are out of line just as much as if I fill up with junk food all day and am overweight.
He also showed me that being healthy might not mean wearing the size I used to wear in high school (very disappointing), but allowin Him to fill my cup of self worth and asking Him to change my desires (yes, even for food), and that if I would daily come back to Him that He would heal me.
The process is a little interesting right now because now I am pregnant, so I really have to accept the fact that I am going to gain weight (duh), but submit my body image and heart to Him all the while. I can honestly say, that while it still isn't perfect, it isn't a daily battle anymore, and I'm not afraid of food or obsessing about it, and the times when I struggle are shorter because I go to Jesus sooner.
Thanks for getting real about this struggle that so many women face!
Love,
Kandi